Sheet jogging mechanism for printing presses



May 6, 1952 R. F. ABERLE 2,595,437

SHEET JOGGING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed April 9, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 6, 1952 R. F. ABERLE 2,595,437

SHEET JOGGING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed April 9, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 6, 1952 R. F. ABERLE SHEET JOGGING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 9, 1948 0 ob Q6 as as 9e 9e 02 20 ea May 6, 1952 Filed April 9, 1948 R. F. ABERLE SHEET JOGGING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES '4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented May 6, 1952 SHEET JOGGING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES Roy F. Aberle, Portland, Maine, assignor to Southworth Machine Company, Portland, Maine, a corporation of Maine Original application September 20, 1946, Serial No. 698,252. Divided and this application April 9, 1948, Serial No. 20,084. In Canada September 18, 1947 This invention relates to printing presses and lsmost particularly applicable to sheet-fed lithographic offset presses of the kind described in my pending application for printing presses, Serial No. 698,252, filed September 20, 1946, now Patent No. 2,542,073 dated February 20, 1951, and of which this is a division.

The principal object of this invention is to provide improvements in the mechanism for aligning the sheets as they are delivered from the machine for stacking. As herein illustrated,

. this mechanism includes means for holding an 4Claims. (01. 271-89) 2 No. 2,497,849 dated February 21, 1950, a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 490,556, filed June 12, 1943, now forfeited.

The main frame of the press includes opposite interconnected side plate sections 25 which are preferably flanged at their lateral margins, the flanges serving to cover and protect various gears, chains, bearings and control mechanisms that are located adjacent to the two side plates 25. Sheets fed successively by feeding mechanism such as that of said applications enter the machine from the right as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are stopped by stop fingers laterally aligned by side jog er mechanism and are then gripped by gripper fingers on a gripper bar 33 carried by chains I80. Thecourse-of chains I80 is indicated tion of a specific mechanism embodying the ink the press;

Fig. 2 is a diagram, looking in the same direction as Fig. 1, showing certain of the driving connections and showing the pile delivery;

Fig. '3 is a vertical sectional view, looking in the same direction as in Figs. 1 and 2, showing sheet-conveying mechanism and mechanism for printingupon (more specifically, numbering) the previously-printed sheets that are carried by the sheet-conveying mechanism Fig. 4 is a plan view of corner jogger mechanism at the pile delivery of the press;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to Fi 4. showing a pair of corner jogger abutments retracted from the paper stack;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken onthe line 1-1 of Fig. 4 showing a pair of corner jogger abutments.

Outline of general organization of machine The illustrated machine contains many of the features of the machines of my prior Patents Nos. 2,140,256 and 2,257,490 and is especially adapted to be used in combination with the sheet-feeding mechanism shown in my copending application Serial No. 590,225, field April as, 1 945, new Pat.

in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The sheet is carried by the traveling gripper bar 33 to and partly around a rubber covered oiiset cylinder 40, the offset cylinder having a recess adapted to receive the gripper bar.

As shown in Fig. 1 offset cylinder 40 cooperates with a main cylinder indicated generally at. Main cylinder 42 comprises opposite end portions 42 mounted on a shaft I66, a lithographic plate holder segment 43 having hub portions 43 also mounted on the shaft I96, and an interchangeable impression segment 44 detachably secured to the opposite end portions 42 Depending upon the character of the work being done, impression segments having surfaces of various materials may be used asmore fully described hereinafter.

As explained in the above patents, a lithographic plate or segment 43 oiisets an image onto the offset cylinder 40, the sheet is then carried in between the offset cylinder and the impression segment 44 of the main cylinder, which results in the image being printed from the oflset cylinder 40 onto the lower surface of the sheet. v

The timing and arrangement of the main'and ofiset cylinders and the feeding mechanism, paper stop fingers, side jogger mechanism and gripper bar 33 is such that a sheet to be printed is presented to the nip between the offset and main cylinders at each revolution of the main cylinder, or in other words, at each second revolution of the offset cylinder.

The main cylinder 42 is provided with platedampening mechanism indicated generally at and plate-inking mechanism indicated generally at so as first to dampen 'the water-receptive blank portions of the lithographic plate and then to ink the ink-receptive image-carrying portions during the time that the impression surface 44 a rubber plate having raised letters, is arranged to offset onto the otherwise blank surface-of the impression segment 44 of the main cylinder. The image thus transferred to the impression surface 44 is then printed onto the upper surface of the sheet simultaneously with the printing onto the lower surface of the sheet byoffse't cylinder 40.

Leaving the nip between the offset cylinder 40 and the impression segment 44, the printed sheet is released by the grippers of bar 33 and simultaneously gripped by a circularly moving second set of gri pers 10 (Fig. 3), which move around axis. ll (Fig. 1),. and at the end of an approximately. 90 circular travel release the sheet and transfer it to third grippers 80 (Fig. 3), which are carried by chains-I42 in a generally-triangular path, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

On the first or downwardly inclined portion of this" triangular path away from the offset cylinder, the sheet may be subjected to a further printing" operation. Mechanism for such further printing preferably comprises, 'as shown in Fig. 3, "one ormorerotating serial numbering units 90 and cooperating platen rolls 9| between which the sheet is carried (Fig. 3) so that the sheet is numbered on'its lower surface upon which it had previously received an impression from the offset cylinder.

Thechain-carried third grippers 80 then carry the sheet onto the lower horizontal run of their triangular path, in which the grippers are caused to openand'drop'the sheet, with its offset printed andnumbered' 'surface uppermost, onto an automatically loweredstack I (Fig. 2) on a platform It! on which the newly arrived sheet is aligned b'oth longitudinally and transversely by corner -jogging mechanism indicated generally at'fill'lli- Side jogger After: the .newly fed sheet is stopped by ongagementiof its forward edgewith the paper stop fingers 3U, the sheet is aligned with sideguides inders and is ultimately deposited on the stack- IOII on the platform I0 I.

Corner jogger As'each printed sheet is deposited on the stack I00, the sheet is aligned with the stack by pairs of corner abutments that respectively approach two adjacent corners of the stack, each diagonally of the top sheet.

In Figs. 4 and 6 the pairs of corner abutments are shown in the position in which they have brought the top sheet into alignment with the stack, abutments I08 and 100 being in contact with the two lateral sides of the stack and abutments l0! and NH being in contact with the forward side of the stack. In Fig. one pair of corner abutments are shown in their retracted positions, away from the stack, preparatory to 4 the discharge of a sheet onto the stack by the third grippers.

A preferred system of linkage for causing the diagonal approach and retraction: of "the abutments with respect to the:stack willinow be described.

An extensible member indicated generally by the reference character 104 comprises rod portion's 1G5 and 106 each of which carries a pair of abutments 109 and HM, and a sleeve 10! which is'secured-to rod'portion I05 and provides a slidable but non-rotatable connection between rod portionswi-and 'lllfi.

The extensible. member 104'as shown in Fig. 4

is mounted-atits ends in sleeves 109 which are longitudinally: adjustable on parallel bars HI. Each bari'll'l' is pivotally connected to links H2 and i I3 which in turn are pivotally connected-at H4 and H5 to stationary brackets H6 and H1 which extend from the side frame members of the press.

Shaft 415 carries twoidentical eccentric cams I [9, of which one 'is'shown in Fig.5,- each actuate ing'a cam follower roller 12!! on the upper-end'of a pivoted-lever 12!. A connecting link 'l23connects the bottom end of each lever 12.! and the adjacent longitudinal bar HI. Thus the continuous rotation of shaft 415 swings eachbar H I about its points of pivotal. support H4 and H5 with a compound motion which .has a' component.

lengthwisev of the sheets. of thestackand also. a componenttransversely of the sheets; toward the other bar .Hl. Springs 125'. restore the bars III to the. positionof Fig.5, asrpermittedby the rotatiomof the cams.|.l'9.. .Asv the c0mpound.moti on of the side-supporting bars. ll I, H i carries them towarcLthe sides of the. stack the extensible; member. HM-connecting. the bars.'Hl, HI contracts, the rod members 105 and 106 approaching eachother,. and as the. compoundmotion of the side supporting bars H I, HI carriesv them away from the sides of the stack. the extensible connectingz member 104 extends, the rodmembers I05 and 106 moving awayfromeachothen:

Thus at each discharge of a sheet onto the stack the sheet is aligned with thev stack by'a pair of abutments'lilfl and NH whichapproach the sheet diagonally from one corner andby a further pair of abutments T09 and ml which approachthe sheet diagonally from the; adjacent corner, whereupon. thepairs of abutments. retract in readiness for the, discharge'of the next printed sheet- Each side abutment is adjustable lengthwise of. its supporting .rod I05 or 106, and is mounted thereon by a bracket I00 which is slid-. able on the rod or H16 and maybe fixed in position on the rod by a set screw .100 engageable in a slot 100 in .therod- Each end abutmentv 1.0 is supported by a bracket H11 (Fig. "7) which is pivotally secured to the bracket H30 of the neighboring side abutment by abolt 10 l Astrong compression spring 'HJI interposed between brackets 100 and NH normally frictionally prevents. the bracket 'HJI and endabutment'lol from swinging from their operative positions as showninFig. 4. andas also shown in full lines in Fig. 7. However, each end bracket '10! can be manually swung, overcoming. the frictional action. .of spring 10 IF,. to thezbroken linepposition of Fig-7.. Inthis'position the end abutments fill lie above the top sheet of the stack, exposing the portion of the stack which is normally contacted by the lower portions of the normally vertical end abutments thus permitting easy removal of the stack endwise without interference by the end abutments.

I claim:

1. In combination with a frame including a sup-port for receiving a stack of sheets, sheetaligning mechanism comprising spaced pairs of arms at opposite sides of the support, each arm of each pair being pivotally fast at one end to the frame above the support, with their opposite ends extending inwardly substantially horizontally toward the sheet support, a bar pivotally fastened at each end to the inner ends of each pair of arms so as to be parallel to the opposite sides of the sheet support, an extensible rod connected at its opposite ends to said bars interme diate their ends so as to extend transversely of the sheet support, sheet-engaging side abutments fast to the extensible rod, sheeteengaging end abutments mounted on the sheet-engaging side abutments, yieldable means connected to said arms for swinging said pair at one side angularly away from the pair at the other side to efifect concomitant separation of the bars and longitudinal movement thereof in one direction, said compound movement retracting the sheet-engaging abutments from the end and sides of the pile of sheets on the support, and power operated means connected to each of said bars for swinging the pairs of arms toward each other to efiect concomitant approach of the bars and longitudinal movement thereof in the opposite direction, said latter compound movement advancing the sheet-engaging abutments into engagement with the end and sides of the pile of sheets on the support.

2. In combination with a support for receiving a stack of sheets, sheet-aligning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the sheet-engaging side abutments are fast to brackets mounted on said extensible rod, said brackets are adjustable longitudinally of the rod to change their spacing, and there are thumb screws for making the brackets fast to the rod in any selected longitudinal position thereon.

3. In combination with a support for receiving a stack of sheets, sheet-aligning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein brackets mounted on the extensible rods support the sheet-engaging side abutments, pivot pins are fast to said brackets with their axes parallel to the extensible rod, other brackets are pivotally supported on the pivot pins to which the sheet-engaging end abutments are fast, said latter brackets being rockable about the axes of said pins, and compression springs are interposed between the brackets on said pins which yieldably resist displacement of the brackets from positions in which they are parallel to the end of the stack, but permitting lmanual displacement to out-of-the-way positions.

4. In combination with a support for receiving a stack of sheets, sheet-aligning mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the extensible rod is divided midway between its ends, has overlapping portions slidably engaged with each other, having a composite cross section corresponding to the undivided portion of the rod, and a sleeve surrounding the overlapping portions and fast to one of the divided portions of the rod.

ROY F. ABERLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

